Worried about new pup

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Worried about new pup
by Angel
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Worried about new pup Hello everybody. Over the weekend we traveled 16 hours by car (and 2 states had blizzards) to pick up our newest female maltese baby. I've had her 3 days now and wanted to get some suggestions as to how to make her arrival more comfortable for her. In the course of 3 days she's:had a bath (by her breeder), went to the vet with my husband and the breeder, stayed one night in a hotel with us, been introduced to my 2 other maltese girls, went to my vet, and has been introduced to her new home. That's a lot to go through in just 3 little days. My worry is this:this little girl is terrified!! She just sits and shakes and cries. I've done everything I can think of to make her feel safe and comfortable, but she is sooo scared. I know she went through a ton of things in 3 days and this is probably normal for her to be so terrified, but it just breaks my heart to see her so uncomfortable. Also, the breeder said to get her her next shot in 1 week and my vet said they do their shots every two weeks on pups so he gave her a shot and I'm worried since she is so stressed out she may have something happen to her from the shot. He assured me she would be fine-I called 4 times in 12 hours to get reassurance but I'm not reassured. Can pups get what's in the shot from the shot itself? Sorry to ramble on but I'm sick with worry about her. She came from a very reputable breeder who I found on this web's advertiser and I drove sooo far from my home because I knew I was getting a good healthy dog. Any comments or advice on how to make her feel better I would GREATLY appreciate. She's sitting her now even just shaking and looking so terrified. She is 14 weeks old and weighs just 1.3 pounds. I'm so scared and worried-please help! Thank You.

DISCUSSION:

Angel, I sure am thinking about this, and as I read your letter,I see that she was introduced to 2 other Maltese girls. I think that will help more than anything.....her two new sisters. I am sure she is plenty warm enough, but maybe some bed clothes like baby blankets in their bed? I remember what it is like, when I brought home each new puppy. I slept downstairs in the family room right near them. I was a wreck. I know exactly how you feel and I wish I could be there to help. Maybe your breeder would have a tip on something familiar to her....maybe she was near a televion or radio on?? You might call your breeder for some tips. The breeder will most likely be glad of your concern. I think your kind words and the two sisters will help more than anything. My little eight year old Missy, when I brought her home, was only a pound even. Keep us all posted, because I know already that a lot of caring people on this site are thinking about this. Bel and the m & & m & m girls
Bel and the m & m & m girls

Angel, I want to reach right through my screen and hold her!! Probably doing just that and verbally comforting her (does she have a name yet?) will help. Does she have a crate? I think they can find comfort in a small area. I used a wind up clock with both my little guys which helped. It mimics the sound of the mother's heart. Also, someone mentioned here on one of the posts to put a heating pad UNDER a small part of the crate so she can seek warmth if that is what she wants. By all means, call your breeder. She is the undisputed expert at this. After all, who else in the world knows this little girl better right now than the breeder. Good luck and please let us know how she's doing.
Marie

Angel: I know how worried you are. The radio and TV on is a good idea. A ticking clock next to her crate might help too. You didn't say, but I assume you are using a crate. When there is a storm and my girls are scared, they like me to read to them. Crazy as it sounds, but they look at the pictures and like to listen to the sound of my voice. They don't care if its Golf for Women, but its my voice that makes them feel good. Let my know if it works for your baby. Good luck. KoKo and Shayna send licks and tail wags too.
Shelley

Angel, last September I went through very similar circumstances. We found our little Mikee through a very reputable breeder. He weighed 1 1/4 pounds at ten weeks when we brought him home. He was a healthy puppy when he was born, but as you know, things just "happen". The day we went to pick him up, he yelped when I put my face to his little face. The breeder requested she take him to the vet and get him thoroughly checked out. She had just bathed him and though maybe she got some water in his ears or something. He was first diagnosed with sore ears, and had a fairly serious intestinal bug and then developed a sore throat. We went after him a week later after he had experienced several daily visits to the vet, a couple of shots, and was medicated daily by mouth and ears. He was ooey, gooey, and greasy and we couldn't bath him! The breeder told us we did not have to accept him. But...it was too late! The first moment I saw him, he stole my heart! So, we brought him home, took him to OUR vet, who also found - by this time - that he had developed congestion in one of his passage ways to his lungs. But, the vet said nothing was life threatening and that these tiny ones were just more suseptible to "stuff"...and gave him another SHOT!

Well, the poor little thing spent the next four to six weeks on medication and checkups at the vet comlete with the thermometer checkup! Then, then!!!! As I have him and Angel trained on litter pans, I found a huge TAPEWORM in Mikee's b.m. Wow! Another trip to the vet. But, he recovered from EVERYTHING and is fine now.

I needed to tell you all his early background to explain this most important part. Since he is our third Maltese, these little ones can be affected by hyperglycemic shock which is very serious and they can die. To prevent this, I have always given them 1 cc of honey four times a day. Each time I would go to pick Mikee up, he would go into severe shakes like he was going to shiver himself to death. After a dose of the honey, it seemed to always go away. I think the sugar in the honey calmed his system. Maybe since she's a tiny one too, the honey would help. As far as the trama she's been through, it will just take a little while. It was at least a month before Mikee quit shaking every time I picked him up. He had been through so much stuff that was unloving that he didn't know who to trust. You should see him today! He just runs around so happy and smiles all the time. I'll say a prayer for you and your little ones as I DO KNOW the heartache you are feeling. Please keep us posted. We all care.
Annette

Hello again! I just want to update Carissa's condition. Thank you for your responses and kind helpful words. She is still extremely terrified. I called her vet again about this and he said considering all she went through this is to be expected. All she does is sleep and when she does get up she goes potty and eats a little and drinks a little and shakes and sleeps. I know pups sleep a lot, but they usually are up a few hours out of the day. She is always sleeping-maybe too much?! That's all she has been doing. She shows no interest in anything (like my other two would wag their tails and put their ears up and run around exploring when they were pups and now even ) but she does none of this. I feel like I'm caring for a very sick dog instead of a healthy puppy based on her behavior. I'm still worrid sick and am trying my absolute best to comfort her and show her she doesn't have to be afraid. I'll let you know in a few days if she improves . Thanx for listening!
Angel

Zoe and I are sending good thought your way!. I got Zoe back in November and she was very shivery for a couple of days and will still put on the shakes once in a while. Two suggestions for you. Ist, my breeder actually gave me a small vial of hone and instructed me to put a small amount in her water and to let her lick some of my finger when she was shaky which helped quite a bit (she was only 1 1/2 lbs) when I got her and has stilll not broken 3 lbs! Also, I am taking her to obediance class and when the instructor noticed that I spoke to her in a baby voice to reassure her that everything would be ok whenever she got shy or scared, she told me that what the dog is hearing when I speak in that tone is that they are right to be scared. Since then I have comforted her physically when she is scared but spoken to her in a more matter of fact tone of voice, this combination has given her a big lift in the confidence department!

You may also want to avoid picking her up or moving her around too much, if you are going to hold her hold her for a long time and let her fall asleap on your chest, the feel/sound of your heartbeat, your smell, and warmth with let her know that she is safe and secure.
Lauren

There are three things that should be considered before a puppy goes to a new home, age, weight, and personality. l lb is far too low a weight, If the puppy does not eat it does not have anything to fall back on, plus she has a shy personality. Your breeder should not have let the puppy go at that weight, it should have been kept with the breeder until it had gained some more weight and been with its siblings to gain confidence, and to have been taken onsuch a long trip. You should have your vet do a blood test on the puppy to see if it is healthy!!!!! Who says this is a good breeder? I don't think so!!!!!!!
Pauline

Just want to update Carissa's condition again. She is doing 100% better!! I should have listened to my vet since he was absolutely right. He told me not to worry, but I did. She is not shaking anymore and is responding to us by doing everything a healthy happy pup does. Thank you all for listening and for your responses.
Angel